Governing Body

Home Governing Body
Name
Biography
Mrs J Blonden (Academy Governor)
I have been a school governor for the past 31 years. I was at Dunstone Primary for seven years, the last three as Chairman. And I have been at Plymstock for 28 years. During that time I have chaired the Finance, Personnel and Premises committees for various lengths of time. These days, because of my availability during the day, I get involved in the interesting work of staff and support recruitment and interviews.
Mr K Bunt (Chair of Governors / Academy Governor)
I have been on the Governing Body for four years and was the previous Chair of the Finance, Premises and Audit committee. I have been Chair of Governors since Spring 2016. I left the military in 2012 and currently work for a national charity as a Regional Welfare director. Two of my children were pupils at Plymstock with the youngest leaving the school in 2015.
Mr Diment (Headteacher)
I'm incredibly proud to be the Headteacher of Plymstock School and I'm wholeheartedly committed to ensuring that all children achieve the very best, as we strive to deliver a world-class learning environment.
Mr A Edwards (Academy Governor)
Joining after A levels, I served in the Royal Navy afloat and ashore as a Marine Engineer Officer Submariner for 37 years gaining an Engineering Degree and Post Graduate Diploma in the early stages of my career. Whilst serving, I worked alongside, lead, managed and trained both uniformed and civilian staff with diverse backgrounds and skills in demanding situations. I am married to a primary school teacher. Attendance at Plymstock School has been a key, positive influence on the education and development of my three children preparing them well for entrance to and study at Russell Group Universities and their subsequent careers. A Plymstock resident for 18 years and keen to return something to the community, I have been a Governor at the School for 4 years since retiring from the Royal Navy and take a particular interest in STEM subjects, school policies and safety issues.
Ms L Greenleaf (Co-opted Governor)
I am Head of Marketing at City College Plymouth and have a vast experience of both marketing and education. Having worked at the College for the past 19 years I am extremely passionate about education and the role it plays in preparing young people for the world of work. As a former pupil of Plymstock School it's an absolute pleasure to be able to contribute to the ambitious goals of the School and play a significant part in its future success. In my role as a Co-opted Governor, I sit on the Curriculum and Personnel Committees.
Mrs V Gregory (Academy Governor)
I have been a governor for 40 years, 27 of those at Plymstock. My main interest is Personnel and I have been the Chairman for many years. Interests include the wider community, e.g local Residents Association and I enjoy walking holidays in Scotland, cooking, sewing and gardening!
Mr N Kelly (Academy Governor)
I am delighted to have been appointed as an Academy Governor in December 2016. As a former pupil who represented the school in many sports and other activities I am honoured to be able to further contribute to the onward progress of Plymstock School. I am a qualified Independent Financial Adviser and also an elected Plymouth City Councillor. I am keen to utilise my commercial experience, professional skills and knowledge to assist the school to achieve it's future objectives. My daughter is studying at the University of Leeds and my son is completing his "A" levels and applying to universities currently. In view of this I am well positioned to offer guidance to prepare students to continue with their academic studies or to commence work in their chosen career. I look forward to shaping the future of Plymstock School for the benefit of all.
Ms Z Mason (Parent Governor)
I’m new to role but very interested in curriculum and personnel. Mum of three boys and a girl with a son still at Plymstock, my career as a nurse and life long passion has been mental health with a background of teaching at post-16. Married to Jonathan from our school days at Plymstock, he was an ex deputy head boy and my father in-law was Head of English so my links with the school span decades!
Mrs J Rickard (Vice-Chair of Governors / Academy Governor)
I became a Parent Governor at Plymstock School when my children were pupils here. I am now an Academy Governor. Over the years I have been linked to various departments and have enjoyed watching the teachers educate and inspire the students at all levels. At present I sit on the Curriculum and Personnel committees and feel privileged to be a part of the Governing Body. I am also Vice Chair of the Governing Body.
Mrs C Stokes (Staff Governor)
I have lived in Plymstock since 1992 and both my children attended Plymstock School. I have worked here since March 2009 as one of the Science Technician team (specialising in Biology), so have a long connection with the school! I joined the board of Governors in February 2016 out of a desire to help the school continue to flourish and be well regarded within the community. I am on the "Curriculum" and "Finance, Premises & Audit" committees.
Mrs D Utku (Co-opted Governor)
I have two sons at Plymstock School- in Years 8 and 10. I became a Governor to have more idea about how the school works and why the decisions are made as they are. I work in Adult Education, with ethnic minority people learning English.
Mr M Wallace (Staff Governor)
I am the teaching staff governor, and I sit on the Personnel and the Finance & Premises committees. My governance role is putting forward the teachers' perspectives and helping to ensure initiatives and policies are realistic and workable. In governors' meetings, I am able to talk first-hand about the impact of new initiatives, and the benefits they have brought to the students. I have held a variety of responsibilities in my 20 years of teaching maths, including head of department. I have been teaching at Plymstock School for 10 years, and I am proud to be helping the school in its ambition to be a world-class learning community.
Mrs A-M Williams (Parent Governor)
I am a parent governor at Plymstock School. I have been teaching Physical Education and Religious Studies for 14 years in both the primary and secondary sector. I now specialise in teaching children with autism and emotional, behavioural difficulties. I am the link governor for the Physical Education department here at Plymstock School and currently sit on the curriculum and personnel committees. I feel extremely honoured to be a part of Plymstock School Governing Body and look forward to celebrating our future successes and achievements.
Mr T Worth (Academy Governor)
Trevor Worth is a One Planet MBA Alumnus from Exeter University and the CEO and Founder of the Portcullis Group and is a "legal entrepreneur" working to improve access to legal services that are innovative and client focused. Portcullis has an award winning law store situated at Dean Cross and is about to launch a legal app just ahead of the firm's 30th anniversary in January 2018. Trevor's focus is also based around the aspiration to develop a new generation of entrepreneurs and this is achieved by his associate lecturing role at Exeter University in the business and law schools, and guest lecturing at Plymouth University and a place on the Business Board at City College. He has also sat on the Legal Services Board Advisory Panel in London and provides consultancy services to educational institutions, charities and NGO's. Trevor has recently launched the Academy of Entrepreneurship in Plymouth to encourage children between the ages of 8 and 14 to develop their own business ideas and to develop leadership skills for life. Trevor is a born and bred Plymothian living in Oreston with his wife Michele and two young children Alexander (8) and Grace (6) who both attend Oreston Academy. I would very much like to focus on using my business experience and knowledge to help add value to Plymstock School. My contacts throughout the city and the region, where appropriate and relevant, could help bring new opportunities in terms of partnerships for work experience placements and potentially sponsorship. I am very interested in curriculum matters and it's function in preparing students for further/higher education and employment.
Mr J Wright (Academy Governor)
Married to an ex-pupil and with three children currently at the School (Years 8, 11 and 13) I am delighted to be an Academy Governor, having originally been an elected Parent Governor. I am the link governor for Safeguarding, Pupil Premium and Special Educational Needs and Disabilities as well as sitting on the Finance, Premises and Audit Committee as Deputy Chair and the Personnel Committee. Having left the Royal Navy after 25 years' service I have since been involved in further and higher education. My Service career gave me experience in many areas including financial and human resources management with focus towards the end on teaching and education, mainly in areas of logistics and law. My experience in diverse areas of leadership and management influenced my decision to become a school governor. I am currently Deputy Registrar at Plymouth College of Art having previously worked in Plymouth University and South Devon College.

To view the Governors’ Annual Declaration of Pecuniary Interest 2016-2017 please click HERE

 

The Role of a School Governor

School governing bodies

All state primary, secondary and special schools, are accountable to their governing bodies, which in turn are accountable to parents and the community. As an Academy Plymstock School has to have at least two elected parent governors, and two elected staff governors in addition to the Headteacher. The remainder of the governors are a mix of co-opted, staff, academy and parent governors appointed to the Governing Body because they have certain skills, or have community links to the school.

The value of school governance

Governing bodies make decisions which are in the best interests of the children and young people. Keeping the decision-making as close as possible to those affected by the decisions makes for sound and efficient leadership and governance. Governors are unpaid volunteers who undertake the role because the wish to support the school and local community. Fulfilling the role of a school governor is, therefore, both a serious undertaking and enormously rewarding. Not only do governors bring their own knowledge and skills to the role, but, in learning how schools are run, they often develop their understanding of leadership. The majority of employers appreciate this and are supportive of their staff taking on the responsibility. In addition, contributing to the growth and development of a school and seeing tangible improvements in the attainment and wellbeing of the children is a satisfying and important contribution to the local community.

The role of the governing body

The governing body is responsible for the conduct of its school, and must promote high standards of educational achievement at the school. It is the school’s accountable body and as such:

provides a strategic view of the school by establishing a vision and setting the purpose and aims of the school within an agreed policy framework. It appoints and performance manages the headteacher, agreeing the school improvement strategy which includes setting statutory targets with supporting budgets and staffing structures;

monitors and evaluates the work of the school by reviewing the performance of the headteacher, the effectiveness of the policy framework, progress towards targets, and the effectiveness of the school improvement strategy;

signs off the self evaluation process and responds to school improvement service and Ofsted reports as necessary. In addition it holds the headteacher to account for the performance of the school and ensures that parents are involved, consulted and informed as appropriate, with information to the community being made available as required.

In order to do this, governors need to gain knowledge of how their school operates through training, by attending meetings, and by getting to know their school community, for example through a small number of visits to the school during the school day.

Governors need to work together as a team, under the leadership of the Chair of the governing body. Plymstock Governing Body requires its governors to sign a code of practice.

Meetings

Plymstock School governing body meets formally a minimum of four times a year. Meeting dates are usually set well in advance and meetings generally last between two and three hours. Governors are expected to be well prepared for these meetings and attendance is expected, with apologies only for good reasons. In addition, there are three committees who will meet once a term, the Finance & Premises Committee, the Curriculum Committee  and the Personnel Committee. These Committees report back to the Full Governing Body every term.

Other commitments

Governors at Plymstock School often meet outside of the formal schedule. Governors will form sub-committees for specific reasons such as the Headteacher’s Performance Management, or pay reviews. Governors are asked frequently to sit on panels, for example to decide on issues of employment or pupil discipline, and a governor is usually on any interview panel for prospective employees. Governors will also attend a full training day every year. Each governor will have a link to a specific subject area, for example there is a Child Protection Governor; other governors are linked to curriculum areas like Maths or English. Governors are encouraged to visit the school as often as possible. Governors serve four year terms of office but many governors choose to sign on for term after term, our longest serving member has now been with us for over 25 years, she started as a parent governor and wanted to keep working for the benefit of the school long after her children left.

Skills and training

Governors do not need specific skills, but many of the tasks they are required to undertake can benefit from general business knowledge such as understanding management systems, budget planning and HR functions.

As an Academy we are required to ensure that training for governors is available and we buy into a number of training packages from a variety of providers to ensure that governors are properly inducted to their role and trained for specific tasks such as appointing the headteacher and then carrying out the headteacher’s performance review.

Support for governors

Each governing body must have a clerk who both advises and services the governing body. We are also supported by Governor Services at the Local Authority who provide advice, support and training. Organizations such as the National Association of Governors will also provide advice and support.

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